Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time staff are based in the Kabul Intimidation Investigation Unit; and what the roles of those staff are.

Penny Mordaunt

The Intimidation Investigation Unit (IIU), based in Kabul, has six full time, in-theatre staff:

A Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servant leads the team as the Scheme Manager, overseeing the investigation of intimidation cases, presenting cases at decision panels, and managing any policy issues which arise.

Another MOD civil servant, employed as the Policy and Secretariat Officer, manages the overall caseload appropriately and ensures that case records are maintained.

Two appropriately trained and experienced police officers, seconded from Home Office constabularies, are employed to conduct the investigations into intimidation claims. Their tasks include conducting interviews and assessing evidence.

Two British military interpreters, fluent in Pashtun and Dari, who provide support to interviews and translate documents that have been provided as evidence.

Though not members of the IIU staff, the IIU receives additional in-theatre support from a Danish legal adviser, and from staff within the Labour Support Unit.

The work of the IIU in-theatre is overseen by the Operation TORAL Civil Secretary, who dedicates the majority of their time to chairing the in-theatre decision panels and provides guidance should cases or issues need to be escalated.

Additional support is provided from the UK by a full-time policy officer based at Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), and by senior managers within PJHQ who oversee the whole of Operation TORAL.